Previous claims by Vice President Kamala Harris have resurfaced stating that she worked at a McDonald’s during her college years, sparking both curiosity and controversy. Even before her 2024 presidential run, Harris made these claims several times. For instance, in 2019, after she spoke at a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rally, she posted a video of the event on X (formerly Twitter) and captioned it:
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I worked at @McDonalds when I was a student, doing french fries and ice cream. There wasn't a family relying on me to pay the bills — but that's the reality for too many workers today. Proud to stand with @SEIU today for livable wages and a safe working environment.
In 2024, she talked about her McDonald's experience again in April on The Drew Barrymore Show. In August 2024, she posted on X, claiming she worked at McDonald’s to 'earn spending money.'
Kamala Harris’s claims of working at McDonalds targeted by Donald Trump
Former President Trump—who recently made a sexist a attack on Harris— has taken a keen interest in these claims as he recently addressed the issue at the Moms for Liberty convention in Washington, as per Daily Mail. Trump has accused Harris of lying about her past employment.
He mockingly suggested that the Vice President had fabricated the story for political gain, questioning why she would suddenly mention working at McDonald’s decades later. He said:
She also said, "I worked at McDonald's.'' Turned out she didn't work at McDonalds.
Did anyone see that? After an exhaustive study that took about 20 minutes, they found out she never worked there.
According to The Daily Beast, Harris is reported to have worked at a McDonald’s franchise in the California Bay Area during the summer following her freshman year at Howard University. However, she has never mentioned working at the franchise in her two books or biographies.
It was also reported in an early cut of a campaign ad that Harris worked at McDonald’s to ‘pay her way’ through college, but it was proven incorrect when she revealed in the X post that it was to earn spending money.
I grew up in a middle-class household. For most of my childhood, we were renters.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 17, 2024
My mother saved for well over a decade to buy a home. I was a teenager when the day finally came—and I can still remember how excited she was.
In college, I worked at McDonald’s to earn spending… pic.twitter.com/rQu2uVTkVQ
As such, the claim has been questioned not just by Trump but by many other critics as well. One X user said:
There are no records or credible sources indicating that she worked at McDonald's.
Fact-checking: Did Kamala Harris ever work at a McDonalds?
In simple terms, the question is still being researched. As mentioned by Snopes, the only source that supports this is Harris's testimony herself and there is no tangible evidence of her working at McDonald’s. The publication has said that it is still researching to find any detail that denies or proves the claim about her past employment.
Harris’s campaign and McDonald’s headquarters have been contacted by multiple publications for proof, such as photos or videos of her working at the restaurant, employment records, or physical items like a uniform or name tag. Efforts to contact her friends and family for public interviews have also been in vain.
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Sources used
Daily Mail: Donald Trump accuses Kamala Harris of telling shocking lie...as questions grow over VP's claim about her down-to-earth past
Daily Beast: Donald Trump Can’t Stop Talking About Kamala Harris’ McDonald’s Job
Snopes: Harris Claims She Had a Job at McDonald's While at College. Here's What We Found
